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village in burgundy overlooking chardonnay vines
GRAPES

Where Does Chardonnay Get Its Flavor?

Green apple, butter, toast, and flint can all turn up in a glass of Chardonnay, and each one has a traceable source. Following them leads from Burgundian hillsides into the cellar and the barrel.

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Regional Reports

Explore the important wine regions from around the globe.

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hungary wine region of tokaji and the surrounding hills
REGIONS

Intro to the Wines of Hungary

One of Europe's oldest winegrowing traditions sits inside a mountain-ringed basin that almost nobody outside Central Europe can find on a map. The wines are further along than their reputation suggests.

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frozen grapes on the vine for icewine
PRODUCTION

The Gamble of the Frozen Harvest

Icewine is among the most labor-intensive and weather-dependent wines on earth, a few concentrated drops of sweetness wrung from frozen grapes. Its history runs deep, so why has the world nearly stopped drinking it?

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new york state wine regions and wine overview
REGIONS

New York State of Wine

One of America's oldest and least appreciated wine cultures hides in plain sight, overshadowed by California yet quietly making some of the country's most distinctive bottles. From the glacial Finger Lakes to maritime Long Island, this is a region a warming world may be turning into a star.

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wine closures and openers from times past
HISTORY

Finding Closure

The stopper is the least glamorous part of a wine bottle and among the most consequential. Its story runs from the bark of a Mediterranean oak to a strip of aluminum, and the argument is still going.

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portugal wine primer by somm.site
REGIONS

The Portugal Primer

A small country holds one of wine's deepest benches, home to the world's oldest regulated vineyard and hundreds of grapes grown nowhere else. Port opened the door, but the whole house rewards a look inside.

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